


Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit

by RealityXIllusion



Series: Hollow's Grasp [2]
Category: Supernatural, Teen Wolf (TV), The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alaric Saltzman & Damon Salvatore Friendship, Angst, BAMF Damon Salvatore, Bonnie Bennett & Damon Salvatore Friendship, Caroline Forbes & Stefan Salvatore Friendship, Crying, Damon Protection Squad, Damon cares too much, Damon centric, Damon mental breakdown, Damon needs more friends, Developing Friendships, Elena Gilbert & Damon Salvatore Friendship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Epic Friendship, F/M, Family moments, Gen, Hurt Damon Salvatore, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mason Lockwood & Damon Salvatore Friendship, More tags to be added, Pack Bonding, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Hatred, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Torture, Vampire Diaries Centric, Witches, bromances all around, dreams aren't memories, everyones worried but Damon doesn't notice, misunderstood Damon Salvatore, redo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2019-06-12 03:53:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15331131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: The title means, "From nothing comes nothing".Damon was new to the whole actually giving a shit about his brother and his friends and just when things were finally settling down, everything started over.OrDamon goes to sleep one night only to wake up suddenly in the middle of the road just before Stefan attempts to feed off of two people in a car.





	1. To the Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This is similar to my Teen Wolf story where Stiles time traveled [That is still being continued].  
> I do not own The Vampire Diaries, to be honest, I've never seen it before, I literally just started the first episode and had the urge to write this.  
> I spoiled quite a bit of the show writing this (So some things may not be 100% accurate), but I'm still excited to watch the series!

  
His life is already pretty much fucked up even from the beginning, from before he was turned. But when he went to bed that night fully expecting to wake up in a few hours and probably have to deal with the whining of his brother or the others, he didn’t expect to wake up only to suddenly find himself standing outside late at night in the middle of the street.

It took one second for him to realize that there was a car speeding towards him and it took another second for him to jump out of the way.

“What the hell?” Damon stared with his eyes wide open as the car continued going down the road.

He clearly remembered going to sleep in his bed at the moment, however, he had no idea where he was or why he was even there. Quickly spinning around Damon took in his surroundings, from the thick fog to the trees surrounding him on either side until finally, his eyes landed on a sign,

‘Welcome to Mystic Falls’

Alarmed, Damon sped towards his house. He had no recollection of leaving Mystic Falls and he knew for certain he was not one to sleepwalk. He needed to check if the others were still at the house, for some only God awful reason, they all decided to spend the night.

Hearing someone moving up ahead, Damon turned towards the sound and was startled to see his brother, of all people, dart in front of the car that narrowly missed hitting him. Watching his brothers’ body launch through the air, and the car skidding to a stop, Damon rushed towards them. He knew Stefan would heal but that didn't stop his heart from lodging itself into his throat. Picking his brother up by throwing him over his shoulders, Damon took off running into the woods before the couple in the car could see them.

Immediately Stefan began struggling against him, and once he deemed they were far enough, Damon dropped him roughly on the ground. Things weren’t exactly the best they’ve could've been between his brother and him but Damon thought they were getting better, that was until he saw the fierce glare, full of hatred on Stefan’s face. Stefan’s slammed his shoulder into Damon’s chest, forcing him back a few steps and within seconds Stefan was gone.

Confused and growing more alarmed by the second, Damon took off running back to Mystic Falls, more specifically he was running to his house when he happened to see a newspaper stack and saw the date.

According to the date it was... it was the exact day Stefan supposedly transferred to Mystic Falls High School in order to meet Elena.

Scoffing, Damon grabbed a few other papers from the stack and began checking the dates on all of them.  
  
They were all the same. Every newspaper had the same date.

Without even realizing it he spent hours running around Mystic Falls searching for anything that would have the days date on it. If the date really was right then...somehow he was in the past. It’s not as surprising as it would be for most people but it was surprising enough because he had no idea how he could’ve gone back to the past.

He would’ve blamed it on a witch but the only witch he had any contact within the past few years was Bonnie and he knew for certain she didn’t do this. He knew he needed to get back to the Salvatore Boarding house only... if he really was in the past, then there was currently no one who would be all too pleased to see him at the moment.

If the timeline was how the others all said it was then... today was the first day of Stefan attending Mystic Falls High School and tomorrow he’d be meeting up with all the others at the Grille and it’s been... Four? Roughly four months since Elena’s parents died so that meant Jenna was living with her and Jeremy now.

That meant Jenna was still alive.

It also meant the back to school party was in two days. Smirking, Damon realized just how he could go about re-introducing himself to everyone.

* * *

After two days of slowly re-familiarizing himself with this version of Mystic Falls, Damon finally began to feel a hint of nerves as the time for the party approached. He could go about attending just as he did last time but thinking it over, Damon couldn't bring himself to do it. Though this would be his only chance to introduce himself to the others, he'd have to go to the party.

Arriving at the party Damon took a moment to take in just how... young... the others all were.

Underage drinking, the junkies off in the corner, the distinct smell of sweat and raging teenage hormones. Damon chuckled to himself when he concentrated he could just make out Bonnie talking with Elena and Caroline flirting with Stefan. Then Bonnie mentioned how she saw a crow, fog, and a man the moment she touched Elena, soon, however, Bonnie was off getting a new drink and Stefan was talking with Elena.

Damon frowned, he knew his brother and Elena were at the beginning stages of puppy love, but that didn’t change the fact that in his time period Elena had chosen him... though things didn’t work out in the end, Damon still felt for her.

One thing that bothered him was Bonnie’s vision... she saw when he watched Elena in the Cemetery only he didn’t do that this time around. So why did Bonnie have a vision about it? He watched as Vicki and Tyler Lockwood left the party, then Stefan and Elena. He debated following after them, but something held him back, he didn’t know what it was but he had a feeling he shouldn’t interfere with anything just yet. Jeremy eventually ended up leaving the party as well, Damon watched out of the corner of his eye as he headed towards where Vicki and Tyler walked off.

Humming under his breath, Damon headed towards where Matt, Bonnie, and Caroline were all standing around. Looking past them he could see his brother and Elena standing on the bridge discussing Matt’s connection with Elena. Damon turned away from them to see Tyler come storming back towards the party, and Jeremy following a few minutes later. His eyes narrowed when he didn’t see Vicki come back but then he remembered that technically tonight was the night he had bitten her.

Setting down the beer that some kid had handed him, Damon took off into the woods searching for Vicki. While he was a tad famished, he knew he couldn’t drink from her, not with how it turned out last time.

Damon paused and a smirk slowly formed on his face as a thought came to him, “...That doesn’t mean I can’t have a little fun…”

Damon allowed some fog to trail after Vicki once he set his sights on her, hearing her heartbeat pick up in fear caused him to freeze slightly as an urge to feast washed over him, but he held it back. Instead, once she seemed thoroughly freaked out he appeared behind her.

Just as she turned towards him, Damon grinned, “Boo.”

Vicki screeched loudly enough that Damon feared Stefan would hear it, he quickly clapped his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.

“Shh. Shh, it’s okay. It’s okay.” Damon forced her to look him in the eyes so he could compel her, “Vicki you’re fine. Just a tad tired so you’re going to lay down and take a nap. In fact, you’re exhausted from working, take a nice deep sleep. Then wake up tomorrow morning, fully rested.”

Vicki’s eyes slowly slid shut, and Damon gently laid her down on the ground knowing sooner or later, Jeremy and Elena would find her.

Instead of sticking around for the rest of the party, Damon made it back to the boarding house just as Stefan rushed upstairs. Grinning widely, Damon let his crow fly in first before dropping his grin in favor of smirking once Stefan saw him.

“Damon.”

“Hello, Brother.”

“...Crows a bit much, don’t you think?” Stefan eyed the crow as he began cawing loudly.

Damon looked around the room, “Wait till you see what I can do with the fog.”

“When’d you get here?”

Damon raised a brow at Stefan’s tone, “Well, I couldn’t miss your first day at school. Plus,” Damon tilted his head, “You know when I got here. After all, I did stop you from going after that couple in the car.”

“Your hair’s different.” Damon walked over to the bookshelf and looked at some of the things piled there, “I like it.”

“It’s been 15 years Damon,” Stefan said calmly.

Damon could tell Stefan was scared of him, what with how tense he was, the quickening of his breath and that look in his eyes. The last time around Damon would’ve been thrilled to see Stefan cowering from him but now? Now it hurt him.

“Thank god. I couldn’t take another day of the nineties. That horrible grunge look?” Damon chuckled, “That did not suit you. Remember Stefan, it’s important to stay away from Fads.”

“Why are you here,” Stefan demanded, his eyes tracking Damon’s every move.

“I miss my little brother.”

“You hate small towns. It’s boring,” Stefan scoffed lightly, “There’s nothing for you to do.”

Damon shrugged, “Not bored yet.”

“Why are you here now?”

Damon turned to stare at his brother with a hard look, “I could ask you the same question. However, I’m fairly certain your answer can be summed up all into one little word…” Damon came to a stop right in front of Stefan, “Elena.”

Damon couldn’t help but smirk at the look on Stefan’s face. “She took my breath away... Elena.” Damon turned and walked back towards one of the tables in the room, “She’s a dead ringer for Katherine. I’d even say she could be a doppelganger.”

“She is not Katherine.”

“Didn’t say she was.” Damon saw Stefan’s confused look but chose to ignore it. He wasn’t acting entirely out of character, and he’d only changed one thing from last time, not including this conversation.

One thing Damon was glad to avoid this time would be the whole flying out a window from the top of the house.

“....What’s wrong with you?” Stefan questioned, eyeing Damon warily.

“Nothing!” Damon sang, “Get some sleep brother, you have school in the morning. Remember?” Hearing movement from downstairs Damon tilted his head, “I think we woke Zach up.” Turning Damon headed for the stairs calling out, “Sorry Zach!”

Quickly leaving the house behind, Damon made his way towards the Grille, after all, he knew Caroline and Bonnie were already there by now.

* * *

It was after realizing that there literally was nothing for him to do in Mystic Falls, he decided to leave for a little bit.

He ended up stayed in Georgia with Bree for a while, just until Stefan got settled into the groove of things, met and befriended the others. However, instead of returning to Mystic falls right away, he found himself traveling around. He stopped in California, met some sheriff’s kid who was too nosey for his own good and apparently knew a hell of a lot more about his town then he showed, but Damon liked him so he let him live. They even hung out for a few days before Damon left. He met a couple of hunters traveling together, said they were brothers but seemed way too invested in one another for Damon’s tastes so he left after a few weeks. He did help them hunt a few wendigo's after realizing how kids from a campground had gone missing. Surprisingly enough the only casualty had been a park ranger.

What he didn’t expect was to leave, come back on a whim and learn how things went to hell while he was gone.

Despite him leaving for a short while there were still deaths, the animal attacks seemed more vicious and frequent than when he had been the one behind it. The only explanation he could think of was that there was another Vampire going around biting and killing people.

He didn’t know who it was but this time instead of him being the one going around and attacking people, feeding off of them, there was someone else and he knew it wasn’t Stefan either. Though he had no doubt in his mind that Stefan blamed all the recent animal attacks on him, somehow the others were blaming him as well and he hadn’t even met them! Not entirely at least. He met Caroline briefly when they saw one another at the bar, and Elena had seen him at the house when she came over looking for Stefan but they had no reason to be so hostile towards him.

No one Damon knew was killed, the Mystic Falls High School history teacher Mr. Tanner was dead, Vicki and Caroline were both bitten and Vicki somehow turned into Vampire only to get killed. Bonnie apparently had accepted her witch heritage, and it seemed all the events leading up to Miss Pearl escaping the tomb with most of the other Vampires had still happened just without his involvement. The thing that pissed Damon off the most was that Alaric had yet to appear when last time around he would’ve already been in Mystic Falls as the new history teacher by now. Or at least he didn’t think Alaric was around just yet, Stefan hadn’t mentioned it and Damon hadn’t exactly been around to know.

Nothing in the timeline seemed to make sense much at that given moment and Damon had the slight urge to bash his head into the wall.

Arriving in Mystic Falls, instead of going to the boarding house and seeing Stefan or Zach to learn more about what’s been going on while he was gone for just a few months, Damon went to the Mystic Grill instead. He slouched in his seat at the bar clutching his half-empty glass of bourbon.

He needed to think of some way to find out who was killing all these people and how they seemed to be going after everyone he went after last time this happened. He knew that Miss Pearl, Logan Fell, Anna, and the other Vampires are mostly to blame. Not to mention whoever was working for Isobel and probably Katherine too. He was so lost in thought, thinking about what went wrong that he didn’t even notice when Stefan came storming up to him and punched him in the jaw.

The amount of force behind the hit had Damon falling off of the bar stool and attracting the attention of the others inside.

Annoyed, Damon held onto his jaw, since he hadn’t drunk any blood straight from a human and instead settled for animals or blood pouches Stefan’s punch had actually stung a bit and glared at his brother. “Do you have a reason for hitting me out of nowhere or is this just pick on Damon day?”

“What have you done?!” Stefan snarled crowding into Damon’s space as he got back up to his feet.

“Well-” Damon smirked, “I’ve drunk my fair share of bourbon and met a pretty little thing on my way back here.”

“Back here?” Stefan repeated the intense look in his eyes fading, backing up just a little bit.

“Back to Mystic Falls of course,” Damon drawled, “I see my being gone for a couple of months hasn’t changed the dangers of this town.”

“What’re you planning?” Stefan frowned, “Caroline... Vicki…”

“Wasn’t me.” Damon hummed, shrugging as he sat back down, “Though another time, another place. Yes, I would’ve.”

“You didn’t kill anyone?”

“Puh-lease,” Damon scoffed, “As if I would’ve been so obvious. There’s another Vampire in town.”

“That’s impossible.” Though the look on Stefan’s face told Damon his brother knew about the tomb being opened and the Vampires escaping as well as Katherine never being sealed away.

“Nu-uh little brother of mine.” Damon wagged his finger in Stefan’s face beaming at the look it got him in return.

Any further conversation was cut off when Elena had hesitantly come over to both of them and told Stefan that they were late for school. Remembering the possibility of a certain person finally being in Mystic Falls caused Damon to smile slightly, intent on following the both of them to the school.

Damon couldn’t find it in himself to care if they noticed him tagging along or not, he simply wanted to go see if Alaric had arrived in Mystic Falls yet.

Standing up, Damon threw a wink their way before speeding towards the high school, specifically to stand around the teachers' conference room hoping Alaric would see him. Damon startled as he saw Anna of all Vampires standing on campus talking to Jeremy. He started to follow the other Vampire but was forced to come to a stop when Alaric suddenly stood in front of him.

“How did you get into the teachers' room?” Alaric began pleasantly, “I’m afraid I don’t recognize you.”

Damon tilted his head slightly before softly saying, “I’m here to discuss my brother’s grades and attendance... I, however, recognize you. You are the husband of Isobel correct? The woman I turned.”

“T-Turned?” Alaric took a step back, shocked, his hand instantly going for something in his inner jacket pocket.

Damon nodded his head, “Of course, she came to me asking for me to turn her years ago….” Pausing, for added effect, Damon hesitantly asked, “Did you want me to turn you as well?”

Though he was pretty sure he already knew what Alaric’s answer would be.

“No!” Alaric shouted horrified, staring at Damon with an unreadable expression on his face, and suddenly Elena was making her way over towards them and eyed Damon warily.

“Is something wrong?”

“Of course not,” Damon smirked at Elena, his eyes drifting over her shoulder to see Anna was gone.

Not wasting another second, Damon walked briskly away from the both of them before Stefan could see him and try questioning him as well. He assumed if he stayed away from Mystic Falls then he wouldn't have had to relive any of these events but apparently with or without him there they still took place.

Arriving at the boarding house, Damon barely remembered to stop and greet a bewildered Zach before heading up to his bedroom to think.

The tomb was open.

Caroline and Vicki were bitten, Vicki was turned and killed.

Stefan and Elena were together, same with Matt and Caroline.

Bonnie was MIA since her grams had died and Alaric was flirting with Jenna but they weren’t together.

Stefan’s birthday had passed and with it the arrival and departure of Lexi.

Katherine was off doing who knows what.

If Damon remembered things correctly then some of the Vampires Miss Pearl was hiding away were planning on attacking soon. The others all seemed as close as they were last time around, possibly more since Damon wasn’t here to antagonize them.

He didn’t want to get involved in any of this... there were so many things that could go wrong, how on earth was he supposed to change anything if even with him gone the timeline continued ruining his life?

Perhaps… perhaps things would turn out for the best if he let things continue with how they were supposed to turn out.

Maybe he really was meant to be the bad guy, after all, getting this second chance... there was no point when he couldn’t save anyone. Damon didn't even know how or why he was in the past. Maybe the people of Mystic Falls would’ve stood a chance had Stefan been the one to return to the past.


	2. Watch the World Burn

They somehow managed to survive the 150th anniversary of the town but Damon knew without a doubt that John Gilbert would make his move and soon. It annoyed him how the others all seemed to go out of their way to avoid him, Stefan still was treating him like he was about to snap at any given moment. He was definitely pissed off that Isobel had managed to corner Alaric about setting up a meeting between her and Elena ahead of schedule but he knew he could deal with it, at least this time around he understood what the endgame was.

It annoyed him how right he was.

* * *

 

The noises around them all faded to a dull sort of hum. Nothing eligible to made out of it as Damon focused solely on the man in front of him.

“Where are they?” Damon snarled, tightening his grip, “Tell me. Where are they?!”

“Damon. Damon!”

"Hey what the hell..." Alaric came jogging over towards them, slowing down as he realized the person Damon had shoved against the wall and was held up by their throat was none other than John Gilbert, “...What’s going on here?”

“Mr. Saltzman,” John Gilbert gasped out, his hands coming up to scratch at Damon's wrist, “W-What a pleasure. Damon and I were just... just having a little meeting.”

“Answer me!” Damon yelled lifting John up and slamming him back against the brick wall.

There was a slight satisfaction in hearing the resounding thud a body hitting brick created.

“Whoa!” Alaric held up his hands and slowly stepped towards them, “Damon put him down.”

“Shut up Ric,” Damon muttered, momentarily forgetting that he and Alaric technically weren’t friends just yet. “Tell me what I want to know, or I will sever your hand from your body and cut off all of your other fingers. Without that pretty little ring, you’re mine to play with until I decide to kill you. Now. The decision is yours, will you tell me the truth or kiss your hand bye-bye.”

John opened and closed his mouth a few times before he finally managed to speak, “....A-a cabin... out in the woods... it’s on the outskirts of the town.”

Growling under his breath, Damon released John.

Turning he headed towards a shell-shocked Alaric before using his speed to return to John’s side and snapping his neck. As John’s body fell to the ground Damon looked at Alaric and grinned sharply, “Keys. Now.”

“Wha-”

“Now’s not the time for questions Ric!” Damon sped towards Alaric and snatched his keys out of his hand, ignoring Alaric’s outraged cry, Damon rushed towards the car.

He barely had time to put the keys in the ignition before Alaric was sliding into the passenger seat and was on the phone with Stefan from the sounds of it. Damon tuned out the conversation in favor of pushing the car to its limits. He needed to get to the cabin as fast as he could, he had a bad feeling if he didn’t hurry then it would be too late.

Sure he didn’t trust either of them as far as he could throw them, but even so, Damon couldn’t deny that Miss Pearl and Anna especially had grown on him.

Also, he remembered how John had killed Miss Pearl, and that Harper Vampire. It was Jeremy’s relationship with Anna that actually made him consider saving them. Matters were a thousand times worse since he knew John had stolen the weapon against Vampires device from Miss Pearl, which put them all at risk.

“-mon!”

Startled, Damon glanced over at Alaric and could barely bring himself to smirk at him, “What is it?”

“I’ve been calling your name for a few minutes now.” Alaric’s gaze narrowed, “Who is it John took that you’re freaking out about?”

Damon pressed his lips into a thin line. None of them knew that he’d been in contact with Anna or her mother, Damon knew if they found out now then they would just become suspicious of him. “Acquaintances of mine. I need to know that they’re safe.”

“...Sounds awfully human of you to say, despite believing you have no emotions.” Alaric said calmly.

Damon tightened his grip on the steering wheel to the point where it creaked under his hold, “...It’s easier not to feel, but that doesn’t mean I turned my switch….perhaps it’d be better if I did.”

“Why?” Alaric demanded harshly, “Why on earth would you want to switch it off now?”

“Too many possible casualties,” Damon said simply before snorting, "Besides, what does it matter? We aren't friends Ric."

The car descended back into silence bar the sounds of Alaric typing on his phone. The moment they were within the range of the cabin, Damon flung open the car door and stepped out with Alaric getting out just as quickly. It was when he saw the smoke drifting up in the air that he acknowledged the smell of burning wood.

“No…Nononono!” Damon breathed out.

Alaric tried saying something to him but Damon stopped listening. Instead, he took off running full sprint towards the smoke, hoping beyond belief that he wasn’t too late, that he made it in time. The cabin itself was alight, the flames spreading out across the dry twigs on the ground, the air seemed thick with smoke as Damon began to choke on it.

He couldn’t let them die. Anna had already lost her mother once and Damon had to watch as Anna was killed, he couldn’t let it happen again.

Gritting his teeth, Damon forced his face into the crook of his elbow, with a running start he slammed into the cabin door with enough force to send it flying off its hinges. Perhaps that wasn’t the smartest thing to do since the moment the door opened all the flames rose and rushed towards him. Damon jumped to the side but wasn’t able to avoid having the fire latch onto his clothing. Yelping as the feeling of being burned assaulted him, Damon almost wasn’t aware of a voice calling out for help.

Freezing, Damon forced any to all pain he felt to the back burner in favor of trying to locate where the voice was coming from, “Anna? Pearl?!”

Damon swept through the cabin frantically, he wasn’t sure how long he spent looking for them but it was long enough that various areas of his skin burned as the fire ate away at his clothing. The smoke had filled his lungs and for a brief second Damon was scared that he was actually about to die, but then the feeling passed as he saw out of the corner of his eye, two figures sprawled out on the floor near the back of the cabin.

Damon sped towards them, he knew without a doubt that it was Anna and Miss Pearl but he gagged as he took in how badly injured they were.

Anna had to have been the one he heard calling out, her eyes were barely open and she was gasping for air.

“D-Damon…?” Anna’s voice broke and her lips moved soundlessly.

“Shh... shh.” Damon reached towards her and cupped her cheek, “I’ll save you. Both of you, I swear.”

Damon eyed Miss Pearl and Anna with a critical look. Both of them were badly burned to the point of being unrecognizable to anyone who’d find them, they were pinned to the ground with stakes in each of their hands and Damon glared at the Vervain laying on their chests. Damon quickly swiped the Vervain off and shouted as it burned his skin. He wasted no time in pulling the stakes out of their hands, and Damon winced as Anna whimpered.

“Damnit... damnit!” Damon yelled.

Neither of them was healing and he didn't think to stop and grab blood bags for them. Then again, if he took a detour before coming then he definitely would've been too late to save them. Clenching his fists, Damon bowed his head. He may have gotten there in time but that didn't mean he could save them. Despite knowing what was going to happen, it seemed as though fate loved screwing him over.

Damon watched with an odd sort of detachment as his burned skin split open from all the movement, causing bits of his blood to fall.

Blood... _His_ blood.

Arms shaking, Damon quickly used his fangs to tear open his wrist, once the blood started sluggishly flowing, he pressed his wrist against Anna’s partially opened mouth. Her half-lidded eyes flew open to started at him in shock. She was too weak to struggle but it seemed after the initial shock wore off, she eagerly began drinking from Damon.

Coughing as the smoke was beginning to become too much, Damon bit into his other wrist and tore the skin away before forcing Miss Pearl's mouth open and letting his blood drip in. While Anna was drinking his blood on her own, Miss Pearl didn’t show any signs of consciousness. Scowling, Damon pulled his hand away from Miss Pearl's mouth and made the cut to his wrist bigger so that it would bleed more. Once a sufficient amount dripped into Miss Pearls’ mouth, Damon took his hand away and massaged her throat, trying to force her to swallow it.

After a tense moment in which Damon was beginning to panic, Miss Pearl swallowed.

Relieved, Damon returned his bloody wrist to her mouth, she began drinking from him of her own violation. They were both draining him of his blood at a startling rate. Damon was pleased to see that Anna was all healed physically only she was now unconscious and was subconsciously still drinking his blood. He pulled his wrist away and looked down at Miss Pearl, her burns were healing albeit slowly. Damon could tell she would be needing a lot more blood but as a wave of fatigue washed over him, he realized he couldn’t risk giving anymore with possibly killing himself. Not to mention he was starving from losing so much blood so quickly.

Also, they were still inside the burning cabin and Damon was pretty sure he could hear Alaric and what sounded like Caroline and Bonnie yelling for him. Which confused him since the girls weren’t with him or Alaric meaning Alaric had called them. Only how did they get there so fast? Was he inside of the cabin for longer than he thought?

He couldn’t see why he called them when Damon was pretty sure Caroline was still learning to control herself, and although Bonnie didn’t entirely hate him this time around they still weren’t friends.

Damon didn’t need them there either. They would just demand answers and none of them would listen if he tried to explain himself, instead, they’d just lose whatever trust they held for him. Damon struggled to throw Miss Pearl over his shoulder, he was so weak that he nearly went down under her weight.

Gritting his teeth, Damon wrapped his other arm around Anna and stood up on unstable legs.

He didn’t think either of them would be too happy to know he was carrying them like a sack of potatoes but if they got angry with him later he’d just tell them it was either be carried or burn to death. His entire body shook as he forced himself to take one step at a time towards the front cabin door. Pieces of the ceiling were falling down around him and Damon found himself stumbling to avoid getting hit. Time seemed to stretch on for an eternity before he finally found himself struggling to leave the cabin and head towards a highly horrified looking Alaric and the girls.

He couldn't exactly fault them for their reactions, Miss Pearl and Anna still looked like hell. Plus he could feel the burns coating his own skin.

After a beat passed, Alaric came running towards him and Damon reacted instinctively as he took a step back to keep Alaric away from Anna and her mother. Alaric looked hurt for a moment but Damon wasn’t sure why. His grip on Anna tightened as he shifted further away from him.

Alaric held his hands out in front of him and spoke slowly, “Damon... let us help you.”

Damon didn’t understand why Alaric was acting so odd but he decided not to question it, “... Need... t-to get back to the house.”

“Oh my god…” Caroline gasped bringing her hands up to cover her mouth.

Damon winced, his voice sounded horrible.

He had tried to move towards Alaric's car on his own but the moment he lifted his foot in the air, Damon stumbled. It was only due to Alaric and Caroline quickly catching him that Damon realized he might need them to lend a hand. Hesitantly, Damon let Caroline carry Anna and Alaric to gently take Miss Pearl from him. He knew it was only a matter of time before they found out just who he was helping. Hopefully, he had some time before that.

Damon was startled when Bonnie came over to help him and she seemed wary about it but he smiled at her and murmured, “Thanks Bon-Bon.”

They made it all to Alaric’s car and Damon slid into the backseat next to Miss Pearl with Anna on the other end.

Caroline and Bonnie shared a look before Bonnie nodded her head and slid into the passenger seat of Alaric’s car.

Caroline left, promising to meet them at the boarding house, and Alaric quickly got into his car and floored it, heading to the boarding house.

While the others' attention wasn't on him, Damon dug his nails into the slightly scabbed over skin of his wrist to get more blood to flow out. Biting his lip to keep from hissing in pain, Damon gently maneuvering Miss Pearl's head onto his shoulder as he brought his wrist up to her mouth. Slowly he began sucking his blood into her mouth.

After roughly three minutes had passed, Damon forced Miss Pearl's head away from him. He definitely couldn't afford to let her feed off of him any longer. Once ten minutes passed by in a tense silence Damon chose to ignore, Bonnie was the one who decided to break it.

“D-Damon? Damon, why aren’t you healing?”

“Hmm?” Damon blinked at Bonnie who turned around in her seat before looking down at himself. None of his burns healed and his wrists were still bleeding meaning he’d been losing more blood all this time without realizing it, “....lost too much blood.”

“What do you mean lost too much blood?” Alaric asked, glancing back at Damon through the mirror.

Damon shrugged half-heartedly but winced immediately afterward, “...Didn’t have blood bags to give them….”

“They’re Vampires?!” Bonnie gasped.

Alaric frowned, “Damon what does that have to do with you not having enough blood to heal and stop yourself from bleeding out in my back seat?!”

Damon leaned his head against the cool car window, he didn't have the strength to hold his head up anymore, “...gave them my blood…”

“Vampires can feed off one another?” Bonnie questioned, though she still eyed Anna and Miss Pearl warily.

“No.”

“No?” Alaric repeated, feeling the same confusion Bonnie felt, “What do you mean no?”

“Vampires’ aren’t supposed to feed off others. It’ll kill them. 'tis why we feed off of humans, or animals...” Damon muttered tiredly.

Bonnie and Alaric both yelled, “What?!”

Damon frowned as Alaric sped the car up causing it to jolt, “You mean to tell me you’re dying?”

Damon hummed, “Will be soon if I don’t get blood…”

Damon was aware of both Alaric and Bonnie speaking to him, but he stopped paying attention. Instead, he let his mind drift off as his body seemed to be shutting down.

He hoped he made it in time to at least save Anna and Miss Pearl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is my first TVD story, please let me know if anything is wrong! Though remember things are different due to being a new start to the timeline. 
> 
> I can see Damon and Mason becoming close friends and worrying everyone especially Alaric. ;)


	3. Freezing Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was kind of more fun to write than the others because of MASON. I dunno, watching the show I just loved how Damon and Mason interacted with one another.

When Damon finally woke up about fourteen hours later, it was too a panicked Caroline, a suspicious Bonnie, and a worried Alaric.

Miss Pearl and Anna apparently vanished sometime later the previous night. Damon didn’t know for sure what happened since he passed out during the car ride, but supposedly, Alaric had Caroline put them out on the couch while Alaric carried Damon upstairs to his room. He definitely didn’t like the teasing tone Bonnie had when she told him Alaric carried him. When Alaric noticed Damon wasn’t healing he made Caroline bring blood bags up for him and Bonnie was already upstairs since she had to open the door for Alaric. While no one was downstairs in the time the other’s stayed upstairs to make sure Damon wouldn’t die on them, Miss Pearl and Anna had fled. Caroline ran outside to try and find them but in the end, all she found were a few empty bags of blood at the end of the driveway.

At the moment Damon was trying to convince Alaric that he really was okay all the while dodging their questions about who Miss Pearl and Anna were. He didn't want to admit that his head was killing him or how his body seemed about ready of keel over at any given moment.

“Come on Damon!” Alaric cut into his and Bonnie’s argument, “Just tell us who they are!”

“...They’re people I want to protect.” Damon said solemnly before smirking, “Besides, I’m the bad brother remember? I always have ulterior motives, so what the point in telling you guys everything?.”

None of them looked happy with Damon’s statement but he didn’t care. He did want to protect Anna and Miss Pearl but he needed to keep the others safe from them as well. Plus, why did they want to know so badly? It wasn't like either of them had done anything other than stealing a few blood bags from his storage.

Alaric’s cell phone going off disrupted the tense silence that had fallen over the room.

Shooting them all a look, Alaric answered his phone and Damon could hear Elena on the other end asking Alaric for help, something about tomb Vampires all being round up and how the Gilbert weapon against Vampires was affecting Stefan. Damon’s eyes widened briefly as he realized what was going on. He felt a surge of anger mainly because the world kept tricking him and causing events to happen out of sequence. He needed to get to the ceremony. He knew if he didn’t then, Mayor Lockwood would die.

Damon stumbled out of his bed, something which annoyed him greatly, and attempted to leave the room but he was immediately pushed back onto his bed by a frowning Caroline.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Caroline put her hands on her hips.

Damon raised a brow, “Please. You and I both know you already heard the conversation.”

“So what?” Alaric began dryly, “You thought you’d go running towards a weapon against Vampires?”

“Not just Vampires.” Damon frowned, “Technically it can be used against all supernatural.”

“Doesn't answer why on earth do you want to go near it?” Alaric gaped at Damon before ruefully shaking his head, “Forget I asked, you probably won’t even tell me.”

“Why don’t you trust us?” Bonnie asked, and Damon was startled to hear her since she stayed quiet the past few minutes.

“What?”

“She’s right you know,” Caroline cut in, “Stefan told us all about you but when you showed up in Mystic Falls then disappeared he said you were like a different person since the last time he saw you.”

“Then you disappeared for a couple of months and when you came back, despite Stefan, despite all of us blaming you for everything, you’ve been nothing but helpful towards us all,” Bonnie added.

“And you offered to let me kill you,” Alaric put his piece in, “You’ve even saved us multiple times before.”

Caroline placed her hands on her hips, “You helped Stefan train me to control myself, and you convinced him to let me drink blood bags instead of animals.”

“...Is there a point to this conversation?” Damon scowled, feeling his frustration grow.

“Yes!” Bonnie snapped, “You want us to trust you, and we do, but you refuse to trust us. We don’t even know anything about you! Stefan hasn’t seen you in 15 years and he has no idea who you are anymore.”

“...Maybe I’m exactly who I want to be.” Damon stood up and sped in front of Bonnie, startling her as well as the others, “I’m a monster. A killer. I’m not the brother you should try and befriend Bon-Bon, Stefan is. I don’t care what you all think of me or if you trust me. I do what I want to do because I _can_.”

Taking in the shocked look on all of their faces, Damon quietly continued, “What I want is purely for selfish reasons. I don't have to explain myself to any of you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be.”

Without waiting for a response, Damon left the house as quickly as he could and made his way to the basement of the old Gilbert Apothecary store. Damon groaned when he saw the flames crawling up the walls of the building.

“Mayor!” Damon shouted body slamming the door open, “Mayor Lockwood?!”

Damon’s eyes traveled around the room, taking in the multiple bodies littering the floor before they finally landed on a terrified-looking Mayor Lockwood. Mayor Lockwood looked a mixture of horrified, relieved, and surprisingly sad as he saw Damon standing on top of the stairs. Cursing under his breath, Damon took a few steps back to get a running start as he jumped down the flight of stairs. Easily avoiding the flames on them. He yelped loudly as his ankle rolled under him, but he pushed the pain to the side as he forced himself to get back up on his feet as he stumbled towards Mayor Lockwood.

“Why... why did you come here?!” Mayor Lockwood was breathing heavily through his nose, attempting to breathe past the smoke in the air as he laid on the ground.

“Saw some people carrying you off towards here,” Damon lied, coming to crouch down by Mayor Lockwood’s side, “What the hell is going on here?!”

“I…” Mayor Lockwood looked away from Damon, “I’ll explain later.”

Damon sighed, annoyed by the Mayor’s behavior but chose not to comment on it since he already knew the truth. “Come on. Can you stand up?”

Mayor Lockwood nodded, and Damon only had to help a little bit to get the man to his feet. There were bruises already forming on his face and the beginnings of burns on his skin, but otherwise, the Major didn't look too bad. The only issue was getting through the flames in order to leave the basement.

Gritting his teeth, Damon quickly lifted Mayor Lockwood into a fireman’s hold and despite the man’s loud protests, Damon carried him over to the staircase.

“What are you doing?!” Mayor Lockwood yelled, struggling against Damon’s grip.

“Stop fucking moving!” Damon snapped, “Do you want me to drop you?!”

“Why the hell are you carrying me?!”

Damon held onto the railing of the stairs tightly as he slipped on a step, “If I didn’t then you’ll get burned!”

Mayor Lockwood immediately stopped struggling, due to his being thrown over Damon’s shoulder he could see the flames licking at his calves. He was shocked by Damon’s actions but also thankful.

Hurrying, Damon climbed the stairs, only pausing when pieces of the ceiling gave way but eventually he made his way to the basement door and flung it open. He made sure to slam it shut with his foot so that none of the tomb Vampires could try to escape, though he doubted they would be able too.

Making his way outside, Damon dropped Mayor Lockwood onto the ground about two blocks away in one of Mystic Fall’s many hidden alleys.

Panting heavily, Damon sat down next to Mayor Lockwood and let his head drop back against the building they were hiding behind. He winced and glanced down at his legs, he was still exhausted from the events at the cabin and definitely didn’t have enough blood in his system to heal fast. His calves were blistered with the fabric of his pants stuck in his skin, pulling at it and causing multiple areas of his calf to bleed.

“You... you need a hospital.”

Damon glanced over at an equally tired looking Mayor Lockwood and who was staring down at Damon’s legs. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not!”

Damon raised a brow at the Mayor, “You want to explain to the hospital staff how exactly I got burned then?”

“....you didn’t have to save me.”

Damon scoffed, “What would you have preferred Carol mourning you and Tyler losing his father?” When Mayor Lockwood didn’t say anything else Damon muttered, “I thought so.”

“...The council had a plan.” Mayor Lockwood said after a few minutes had passed in silence, “John Gilbert came to us, saying he had a weapon his ancestor had invented against Vampires... there was a plan, one where the weapon would be used during tonight's event and anyone who was affected was to be taken to the cellar….”

“You were affected,” Damon stated.

Mayor Lockwood nodded grimly, “I was, but I’m not a Vampire.”

Damon hummed lightly, “...Let me guess... werewolf?”

“How did you-”

“You wouldn’t be the first one I’ve met.” Damon cut the Mayor off, “If the council knows you were carried off then they know you aren’t human.”

Mayor Lockwood dropped his head down into his hands, “I know…”

“Well,” Damon elbowed the Mayor lightly in the side, “No one but you and me knows that you’re still alive you know.”

“Are suggesting I fake my death?”

“If you want to keep your family safe then I suggest you do.”

* * *

It took around a week for Mayor Lockwood to be declared dead, his death was written off as being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The funeral was going to be held later today and Damon hoped things would go better this time around. Of course, since there was no corpse to be found, the casket would stay closed.

Thankfully Katherine hadn’t come to Mystic Falls just yet and Elena never contacted Isobel despite learning that Isobel was her mother, so Damon knew he didn’t need to worry about either of them at the moment.

Tyler Lockwood stood at the entrance of the Lockwood home, greeting all those who had come for the wake. Damon shook Tyler’s hand and clapped him on the shoulder before moving past him and further into the house. After convincing Mayor Lockwood to let the town see him as having died in that fire, Damon tried to argue with the man, telling him that Tyler at least had a right to know his father was still alive.

However, Mayor Lockwood was adamant that no one but Damon knew he was still alive. Though he did ask Damon to let him hide in Mystic Falls just until after his funeral.

Out of the corner of his eye, Damon watched as Elena, Stefan, Matt, and Caroline were all speaking with Tyler. Jenna was walking with Jeremy towards the Lockwood kitchen carrying what Damon assumed was a casserole. Turning, Damon tensed up as he came face to face with none other than Mason Lockwood.

Mason smiled casually and held out his hand, “Sorry about that, didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”

Damon clasped his hand firmly, “Don’t worry about it. Names Damon Salvatore.”

“Mason Lockwood.”

Damon inclined his head slightly, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Mason’s smiled fell off his face, “Yeah... kind of sucks coming back home in a while because of a funeral.”

“Will you be here long?”

“I plan to stay for as long as I need too.” Mason’s eyes lit up with a determination as he glanced over Damon’s shoulder at Tyler who just walked over to his mother.

If he didn’t already know what Mason really was staying for then Damon would’ve believed that he was staying for his family. However, Damon was determined to make sure neither Katherine or Klaus ever got their hands on the moonstone. After a few hours passed, Damon bid farewell to Tyler and his mom before walking off the Lockwood property, however, before he could make it past the gate Mason came jogging up to him.

“Here.” Mason held out a scrap of paper with a hastily scrawled number on it, “Been a while since I’ve been back here, it’ll be nice to have a friend around.”

Damon smirked flirtatiously as he took the paper, “You know if you wanted my number all you had to do was ask.”

“Oh?” Mason grinned quirking a brow, “Seems like you wanted me to ask for it, huh?”

Spending a few more minutes bantering with a slight mix of fake flirting, Damon finally left the Lockwood property feeling a bit lighter and with a million plans running through his head.

Sadly, what Damon didn’t plan for was Mayor Lockwood demanding Damon leave Mystic Falls with him if only temporarily, to help him settle down elsewhere and start a new life which he could later comfortably bring Tyler and his wife into. Damon wasn’t given many warnings, which ended up forcing him to leave with no explanations causing Stefan to once again become angry with him.

Something which always seemed to be a daily occurrence between the two of them anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! If you're new here, then good! If not and then please note that I've rewritten all chapters before this.


	4. Since You've been Gone

Damon was well aware that he was gone from Mystic falls far longer then he meant to be. He’d gotten Mr. Lockwood (seeing as he was no longer the Mayor) set up in a nice new home in Connecticut. It only took a little bit of convincing on his part to purchase a modest house for one fourth the original price. Everything was signed in his name, they didn't have any false documents for Mr. Lockwood to use so Damon had to put everything in his name. Mr. Lockwood swore that no matter what he would pay Damon back but if he was being honest with himself, Damon couldn't care less.

He even stayed behind with him for a month to help him settle down and find a job as an office worker, but then when Damon left, instead of returning home he ended up traveling around a bit. He didn't mean too but he had a gut feeling that he couldn't go back to Mystic Falls just yet.

The first place he made sure to visit was the Augustine Society.

He ensured that by the time he was done there would be no survivors left, even going as far as to kill Aaron, the only thing that bothered him was how neither the Whittemore's or Enzo were to be seen on the property. He needed to find Enzo, but he had no idea where he could’ve gone off too so Damon began to travel some more, moving from one place to another every three days. Once in Minnesota, he came across the hunter brothers again, this time there was thankfully no supernatural nonsense for him to get caught up in. Before going their separate ways, Damon was tricked into trading phone numbers with the both of them.

It was during his travels that he met Rose.

Rose the woman who had turned Katherine, Rose the very woman Damon had killed after giving her a pleasant dream to distract her from the pains of a werewolf bite. Rose who he had grown to love. Damon stayed with her and Trevor for about a month and a half, Trevor left them alone at the abandoned house more often than not when it became apparent to him that Damon and Rose were becoming friends with benefits.

It wasn’t until a frantic Stefan, Bonnie, Alaric, Elena, Caroline, Jeremy, Mason, and even Matt had all called and left him voicemails that Damon realized just how much time had really passed.

He dropped everything to go back to Mystic Falls and Rose came with him, as did Trevor who Damon surprisingly enough became fast friends with.

They made it to Mystic Falls and Damon ran around the town frantically when he realized none of them were at the boarding house or their own houses. He decided to leave Rose and Trevor at one of Mystic Falls motels in favor of searching thoroughly without needing to worry about either of them. Finally, Damon found all of them waiting in the history classroom of the school.

He wasn’t sure how to feel about them all looking glad to see him when last time around they all hated his presence.

“Damon!”

All at once, they began explaining the situation to him and the only things Damon could make out with everyone talking over one another was that someone named Elijah was in town thanks to Katherine leading him here and that he wanted their help killing a man named Klaus.

Damon froze, “Katherine?”

“... Yeah... she showed up a few weeks ago, she led Elijah here and left.” Stefan tensed up as he warily told Damon what happened.

Damon snorted, “I’m surprised she led him here when last I heard she was running from him.”

Though he honestly was surprised, he figured Katherine must’ve negotiated with offering Elena in her place or something like that.

“Y-You know who he is?” Alaric stood up straight while all the others in the room stared at him eagerly.

Damon contemplated on what to tell them, he didn’t want them doing something stupid.

“Damon?” Elena stepped towards him, “Please, what do you know?”

“You realize just because you say please, that won’t get you anywhere in life.” Damon scoffed, “But one thing you all should know is to stay the fuck away from him.”

“Why?” Stefan stood directly in front of Damon and glared at him, “Who is he, Damon.”

“He is standing right here.”

Caroline shrieked and quickly moved to the other side of the room to stand by a scared looking Matt and Bonnie. Stefan stepped in front of Elena and Alaric snatched his crossbow off his desk and aimed it at Elijah's heart.

Damon turned around to look at Elijah as he calmly stood in the doorway, with a downward turn to his lips.

“Apologies, I didn't mean to startle any of you.” Elijah stepped into the room and Alaric yelled out.

“Not another step!”

Damon couldn’t help letting a chuckle or two escape him. The situation certainly was funny enough.

Elijah held his hand out towards Damon, “I don’t believe we’ve met. It’s a pleasure to meet you, my name is Elijah Smith.”

“Smith?” Damon quirked a brow, “Not very creative but I guess it does its job. I’m Damon Salvatore.” Damon shook Elijah's hand, “So I hear you have business with my brother and his friends?”

“Hmm, yes. I’ve asked for their help.”

Damon nodded his head, “Well, I just got back to town so what do you say? What to head over to the grill, grab a bite to eat and we can discuss things there? Or do you want to come over to the house for dinner?"

Damon was well aware of the others all gaping at him like he’d lost his mind and apparently Elijah thought so too if the amused twinkle in his eye was any indication.

“Dinner it is, I’m afraid I have a meeting to get to but then I can be over, shall I say around seven?”

Damon grinned, “Seven it is.”

Once Elijah left the room, Stefan sped towards Damon and slammed him back against the classroom wall. The others cried out for Stefan to get off of Damon but neither brother paid much attention to the others.

Not missing a beat, Damon grabbed Stefan by the wrist and twisted his arm before wrenching it behind his back causing Stefan to yell out in pain. Glaring down at Stefan coldly, Damon said, “You want the information you need little brother, you play the devil's advocate. Oh, and attack me again and I will snap your neck. You and I both know who the strongest of the two of us are.”

After a minute or two passed, Damon loosened his grip and let Stefan jerk away from him.

“Well,” Damon clapped his hands together loudly, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m assuming I need to buy groceries for tonight's’ dinner. Are any of you coming?”

“I am,” Alaric said immediately.

Stefan stared at Damon, “...no. Elena and I will be out of town.”

Damon listened as the others all declined and Damon realized that with how things were going dinner would just be Elijah, Alaric and him.

“You haven’t told us what he is yet,” Bonnie said before anyone could leave the room.

“Oh.” Damon shrugged, quirking a brow at how Alaric was still gripping his crossbow tightly, “He’s an Original. One of the Original Vampires.”

“What does that mean?” Matt asked.

“It means he’s one of the first Vampires to exist. If he dies, then anyone he’s turned would die as well.” Damon shrugged, “Same with his brothers and sister. If they died then the Vampire lineage they created die with them.”

Elena looked startled, “What about you and Stefan?”

Damon grinned, “Who knows? Katherine turned us, Rose turned Katherine and scary Mary turned Rose. That’s as far back as I know at the moment.”

“Scary Mary?” Alaric repeated, amused.

Damon shuddered, “She’s absolutely  terrifying.”

Stefan’s brows shot up, “You’ve met her?”

“I’ve had the horrible pleasure of meeting all three of them before brother.” Damon smirked, “Though at least Rose isn’t a bitch. Now if you don’t mind, I have a dinner to plan.”

* * *

Planning a dinner for two Vampires and one ex-Vampire hunter was a lot easier then Damon expected it to be. Luckily he bought enough for at least six people since Alaric ended up bringing Jeremy and Jenna with him.

Damon waved the three of them inside and both members of the Gilbert family looked around in awe of the historic like design of the Salvatore home. Jenna handed Damon a homemade pie which he thanked her for and set down in the fridge to keep cool until after dinner. While Damon knew Jenna did not hate him she still wasn’t the fondest of him. He learned that was because he was seen as Stefan’s guardian who left him alone constantly which was somewhat true.

One thing that hasn't changed this time around was the fear Jeremy had towards him but Damon could tell it wasn’t nearly as strong as it could’ve been.

“So, Alaric tells me Mr. Smith is also coming?” Jenna asked, breaking the silence in the room.

For a moment Damon didn’t know who Jenna was talking about until he remembered that Elijah was going by that name. “Ah, yeah. Yeah he is, I heard he’s in town researching about historical sites and I know the Gilbert family had a habit of tracking all of that but so did the Salvatore’s so I figured I could be of some help.”

Damon talked with Jenna for a few minutes about their families keeping track of events throughout history, he could see Alaric eyeing him oddly out of the corner of his eye, the moment it said seven on the old clock in the parlor, the doorbell rang.

Setting down his glass of bourbon, Damon opened the front door and greeted Elijah.

“I do hope none of you are planning on doing anything stupid tonight.” Elijah began calmly.

Damon smirked, "Well, I know I won’t be. Ric won’t do anything stupid when Jenna doesn’t know about us.”

Elijah looked slightly confused, “Why is she here?”

“Ric didn’t want to leave her and Jeremy home alone,” Damon stepped back, “Though really Jenna heard I invited you over, same with Ric and she demanded that she be invited as well.”

Elijah looked down at the doorway before staring at Damon and Damon realized Elijah was waiting to be invited in, it was then Damon remembered that he hadn’t killed Zach this time around so technically Elijah did need to be invited in.

“Oops.” Damon turned to the side, “Sorry, let me go get Zach.”

Damon knew he hadn’t seen Zach since he came back to Mystic Falls, just like he knew Zach had a habit of avoiding him and sometimes Stefan as well. Walking to Zach’s bedroom Damon knocked on the door and listened for any sounds on the other side. After a minute, the door opened a smidge and Zach stared at Damon warily.

“Heya Zach,” Damon grinned, “I kind of need you to invite someone in for me.”

Zach’s eyes widened, “There’s another Vampire in Mystic Falls?”

“Yep.” Damon popped the ‘p’ loudly, “Stef made an acquaintance and I invited him over for dinner.”

“No way!” Zach opened the door wider and shook his head frantically, “If I invite them in once then they’ll always be able to come back in.”

Damon tilted his head. “...huh. I didn’t think about that...alrighty then!” Damon clapped his hands, “Looks like dinner’s going to be held outside, you going to join us? I bought the steaks you like.”

Zach shot him a bewildered look before slowly shaking his head no.

Damon frowned, “Ok, I’ll leave a platter for you in the kitchen then.”

Damon sped back downstairs to where Elijah was patiently waiting in the doorway, with a scowling Alaric standing in front of him. “Change of plans!”

Alaric looked at Damon, not once relaxing his tense posture, “What do you mean?”

Damon gestured for Alaric to head to the parlor, before facing Elijah, “To put it frankly, Zach’s terrified to let you in so I’m moving the dinner to outside.”

Elijah frowned but nodded his head in acceptance.

“Alright, you’re the guest, just head out back and gimme a moment to grab some chairs. There should already be a table out there.”

Damon hurried to the parlor where Alaric, Jenna, and Jeremy were all at, “Hey so the dinner’s going to be outside, Jenna would you and Jeremy mind grabbing some plates of food while Ric helps me set up outside?”

Jenna nodded and Damon showed her and Jeremy where the plates, silverware, napkins, and glasses were located before having Alaric wait by the back door to the house.

“What’s really going on?” Alaric grabbed Damon by his elbow and forced him to stop moving around.

“Zach doesn’t want Elijah in the house so I’m moving the dinner outside.” Damon shook Alaric’s hand off, “Come on, we need to move the table outside towards the back and grab some chairs.”

Since he knew neither Jeremy nor Jenna could see him, Damon sped around, setting up the chairs around the table and lighting a few tiki torches he found in the basement to keep the bugs away. After a strained silence fell over them, Jenna came walking out of the house with her arms filled with clean plates and silverware. While Alaric rushed to help her, Damon headed back towards the house to help Jeremy grab the food.

He was glad he did. The moment he came inside and saw Jeremy trying to hold a container he shoved the steaks into on top of the pot of mashed potatoes, Damon ran over to him. Thankfully, catching the pot of mashed potatoes just as Jeremy lost his hold on them. 

"Maybe trying to carry all this at once isn't the best idea," Damon drawled, "Come on kid, take the steaks out and help set up. I'll grab the rest."

Jeremy shot him a look but slid around him as he made his way towards the backdoor.

Turns out having dinner with Elijah without having any hidden motives made for a somewhat pleasant dining experience, except for Alaric constantly asking him if he had anything planned causing Jeremy to start asking them what was going on. Otherwise, Damon even dared to think that he had enjoyed himself and that Elijah actually made good company when they weren’t aiming to maim one another. Though Damon wasn’t sure how to feel about the current situation in Mystic Falls, he couldn’t see a way to stop Klaus’s ritual and Damon knew Elijah wouldn’t be able to kill his own little brother.

By the time it was nearing ten at night, Jenna decided that it was time for her and Jeremy to start heading home.

"Right," Alaric stood up and picked up his dirty plate as well as Jenna and Jeremy's, "Let me take these inside real quick then we can get going."

Jenna smiled at him before turning towards Damon and Elijah, "The food was delicious Damon, thank you for inviting us and Mr. Smith, I'll see you at our next meeting to discuss more about Mystic Falls?"

Elijah stood up, gently shaking Jenna's had as he bid her goodnight. Jenna and Jeremy both headed towards the house but Alaric stopped as he noticed Elijah retake his seat next to Damon.

"You aren't leaving?" Alaric frowned.

Elijah raised a brow, tilting his head towards Damon, "I'm not particularly tired just yet. Damon, would you mind if I stayed for a bit longer?"

Damon shrugged, "Go ahead. Though hope you don't mind if I bring out some scotch."

Elijah nodded his head, "Scotch would be lovely."

Damon grabbed the rest of the food off of the table to take in with him. He barely stepped a foot into the house before Alaric was hissing at him to stop.

"What?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Damon tilted his head, "What do you mean?"

"You invited him for dinner, he stayed for dessert and now you're going to sit out there and drink with him?" Alaric asked incredulously, "He isn't some friend you're catching up with!"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Devil's advocate, remember?"

Devil's advocate.


	5. Nightmares made into Daydreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter than previous ones, I'm sorry about that.

Time was a fickle thing which Damon was quickly learning to hate. It seemed no matter what he tried, some things never changed and when Stefan’s old friend Lexi showed up for his birthday she apparently realized something was off with him despite the fact that Damon wasn't even there. Damon made sure to note that he had to vanish from Mystic Falls the next time Lexi decided to pay his brother a visit. What’s been annoying him about traveling through time is that it seemed every night now, the moment he went to sleep, he’d dream about his memories. Not one memory in specific but random ones all combined to create some odd nightmare of all the bad things that have happened.

He thought he had the dreams under control before he returned to Mystic Falls.

Only on his first night back, once Elijah left a little after eleven and Damon was only slightly drunk he had one of his worst nightmares yet. In the dream all he could see was bits and pieces of his time in the war before Katherine turned him, mixed with memories of Klaus forcing Stefan to become the ripper and every face of someone Damon had ever killed.

It's been decades since he dreamt about the war. Even longer since he had any nightmares about his old unit mates dying. It was unexpected and the say one face warped into another left Damon squeezing his eyes shut. He knew that the death of those he's encounter would haunt him, it always did. However, constantly reliving them over and over again until they began to blur together was nothing short of torture. 

He woke up slightly out of it. He’d fallen asleep on the couch downstairs and when he woke up with Zach leaning over him, one of the many faces which visited him in his dreams, Damon flinched away from Zach who quickly backed away from him. Damon kept his hands clenched into fists by his side, his entire body locking up as he tried not to move. 

There was a tense silence between the two of them, Damon was panting heavily since scaring himself awake and Zach was eyeing Damon warily.

“....Are you okay?” Zach quietly asked once Damon calmed down.

Damon’s head shot up to stare at Zach, “....m’fine.”

Avoiding Zach’s gaze, Damon sped towards the doorway intent on getting out of the house but was forced to stop when his brother stood in the doorway, blocking his path. Damon had to bite his lip to keep from honest to god growling at Stefan.

Stefan looked back and forth between Damon and Zach before asking, “What’s going on here?”

Damon gritted his teeth, “Nothing.”

Damon shoved his way past Stefan, and instead of heading up to his bedroom, he left the boarding house and headed for the bar. He wasn't sure what time it was but it was five o'clock somewhere in the world. It figures the moment Damon walked into the bar, he saw Alaric getting off the phone and gesturing for him to join him at the bar. Rolling his eyes, knowing that Stefan must’ve called the history teacher, Damon went over to the bar and flopped down next to Alaric with an obnoxious smirk in place. 

“Hmm, let me guess. Stefan called you?” 

When Alaric gave him a look Damon rolled his eyes, “Relax, I wasn’t listening in, it’s not that hard to hazard a guess.”

They both settled down in silence and any attempts Alaric made at conversation Damon made sure to shoot down.

He came here for a drink, not to have some sort of discussion with Alaric. Definitely not when it could turn into some kind of heart to heart.

"...How did it go with Elijah last night?"

Groaning, Damon shot Alaric a glare out of the corner of his eye, "One thing is for sure, the guy can definitely hold his own when it comes to alcohol." Noticing how angry Alaric was becoming, Damon sighed and quickly added, "I think he's trying to stop Klaus, but I can pretty much guarantee he doesn't plan on killing him."

"How do you know that?"

"They're brothers," Damon shrugged, "They maim each other and threaten to kill one another all the time but they won't actually do it."

Alaric shook his head, "You don't know that."

"Yeah... yeah, I do."


	6. Nothing's Changed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, you'll notice that this is similar to the last update if you aren't a new reader here. That's because I've separated the last chapter and added onto this one.

He realized something was wrong when he headed to the bar and grille and noticed how Alaric wasn’t there. Damon was over an hour late to their set meeting time and he knew Alaric wouldn’t just up and leave because Damon wasn’t on time. 

So, he took his phone out and tried calling him. When that didn’t work, Damon tried calling the others. No one was answering their phones.

Out of everyone, Mason Lockwood had to be the one to tell Damon what was going on. None of the others were to be found and Damon couldn’t get a hold of any of them either. Mason only knew a little bit of what was going on because apparently, Klaus had taken a member of his pack, Jules. Damon had no idea what he was supposed to do. Klaus shouldn’t have made his move for another week but for some reason, despite the events remaining the same, everything in this timeline seemed to be happening so much faster.

Damon panted heavily as he ran into the clearing and saw the mess Klaus had created. 

Despite everything he’s done; befriending Elijah, building something of camaraderie with Klaus… nothing worked. Elena’s corpse was currently being cradled by Stefan, Jules was laying off to the side, dead with Mason racing towards her, and although he managed to stop Jenna being turned another Vampire had taken her place.

Rose.

Rose who he had tried everything to protect, he made sure she didn’t know what was going on around her in Mystic Falls, he didn’t piss off Jules to avoid Rose getting bitten and he made sure not to let any of the others meet her.

She should have been safe, but Damon supposed he should’ve known better when everyone around him seemed cursed to die.

Feeling as though he was going through an otherworldly experience, Damon knelt by Rose’s corpse and gently lifted her into his arms. Looking up, Damon saw as Elijah entered the clearing and took in what his little brother had done. The moment Elijah’s eyes met his Damon glared harshly all the while attempting to wipe any emotions off his face, he had a feeling he failed but he didn’t care. 

Elijah looked as though he wanted to say something to him but Damon looked away and instead looked at a crestfallen Stefan and gestured for him to get Elena out of there.

Damon stood up and winced as Rose’s head lolled against his bicep, “Mason.” Damon called out. His voice sounding empty even to his own ears, “Mason grab her and let's go.”

Mason looked at him with a wide-eyed sort of innocence that made the man seem years younger than he was but eventually Mason did as Damon said and delicately picked Jules up. Damon could tell from the stiff way Mason walked that he was fighting back his wolf, frowning Damon sped over to Mason. He shifted Rose so that she was over his shoulder and held his arm out to take Jules from Mason.

Mason growled at him, his eyes flashing yellow, and took a step back.

“Mason you’re about to transform whether you want to or not. Let me take her and you get out of here.” Damon ordered.

Mason clearly did not seem intent on listening to him now and Damon could understand that; since a wolf usually sought out its pack during a full moon Mason would want to stay near Jules. but Jules was dead and Damon was worried how Mason’s wolf would react to that.

He didn’t need to deal with a rogue wolf on top of everything else.

Damon didn’t have to worry long as Elijah who apparently had not left, appeared behind Mason and knocked him unconscious. Elijah bent down and gingerly picked up Jules before looking 

Damon in the eye and asking him where they should go.

Damon glanced around them and was glad Stefan had already disappeared with Elena. “...To my house. We can keep them downstairs in the cellar until I can bury them.”

Without saying another word, Damon turned away from the frowning Elijah and ran towards his 

House, silently hoping that Zach wouldn’t be there.

Although he said he wanted them both to be put down in the cellar, Damon placed two blankets down on the ground first before laying Rose down on top of one of them. After a minute passed Elijah walked in and set Jules down as well. 

Damon wanted to demand Elijah tell him why he was able to get inside when as far as he knew Zach never invited him inside. Only, at the moment he couldn’t himself to care.

Damon ignored him in favor of brushing a bit of Rose’s hair to the side before standing up and leaving the room. He headed upstairs and poured himself a glass to drink and reluctantly he poured a glass for Elijah as well when the man followed him instead of leaving like Damon originally thought he would. 

Damon silently held out the glass of whiskey towards Elijah and drank from his own glass once Elijah took the cup from him. Damon sat down on one of the armchairs and ignored Elijah to the point where he actually forgot Elijah was there until said man crouched down in front of him. 

“Damon,” Elijah snatched the glass of alcohol out of Damon’s hand, “Damon I did not know what my brother had planned.” 

Damon snorted. 

“I apologize for my brother's actions….that Vampire woman...you and her were close?” 

Damon smirked at Elijah coldly, “Nah, I don’t do the whole relationship thing. She was just someone I’ve run into once or twice. Not exactly what I call close.”

“Do not lie to me.” Elijah stood up where he towered over Damon, “I saw your face Damon, you looked broken when you saw her lying there!”

“Maybe I am broken.” Damon shrugged, “Hell, I’ve been broken for a long time. I just let my guard down earlier. Nothing for you to worry about.” Damon got up and looked Elijah in the eyes, “I’m not the only broken one you know. Don’t you have a hybrid brother to go find?”

“Da-” 

“Not in the mood for one of your games Elijah.” Damon cut the Original off harshly, “Just go find Klaus will you.” 

Damon turned around and ignored Elijah entirely until Elijah finally left the house, leaving Damon alone. 

Perhaps being alone was what God intended for him.

Somehow going back in time decided to come and bite him in the ass. No matter how hard he tried Damon couldn’t seem to keep anyone safe. Since Rose’s death a few days ago, Trevor up and vanished, Stefan seemed to want to hunt Klaus down and Damon’s been avoiding everyone. 

Elena and Alaric had both tried forcing him out of his room but one threat from Damon made them go away. He should’ve known they wouldn’t stay gone. Instead, they sent Stefan to come and talk to him. Damon doubted his brother would be capable of having a conversation with him before bringing up Klaus and wanting to bring the Original down.

Damon grinned sharply as Stefan barged into his room, “Hello brother, don’t tell me you’ve lost your manners over the years!”

Stefan’s glower was almost enough to make Damon laugh.

“What’s wrong with you?”

What’s wrong with him? Damon’s grin dropped. A scowl taking it’s place as he stared at his brother, angered by his question. “What’s wrong with me? You… Get the hell out.”

Visible startled, Stefan stepped back, “What?”

“I said,” Damon sped over to Stefan and pushed him back, closer to the bedroom door, “Get out.”

“Damon I-”

Not wanting to hear another word, Damon shoved his brother in the chest, using his enhanced strength to send him careening into the wall outside his door. Once Stefan was past the door frame, Damon quickly slammed the door shut and locked it. 

He had every right to be upset, he had cared for Rose. He still did care for her even now that she was gone. He was also worried about Trevor, about what or where he was and the trouble he may have gotten himself into. The night Rose was killed Damon had gone back to their motel room just to see everything packed and Trevor’s things missing. All he found was a note on the end table saying ‘I’m sorry’. 

Clenching his hands, Damon whirled around and slammed his fist into the wall by the door. Wincing slightly as splintered wood broke off and cut into the skin around his knuckles. He was definitely not in the mood to deal with any of the others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I re-wrote every chapter. There isn't a ton of differences, but I did go back and change a quite few details as well as adding to what was already written.

**Author's Note:**

> Until the TW story, this one will not be following every episode, instead, there will be a few jumps such as one chapter being dedicated to one episode and the next chapter being based off where three episodes had passed. This is not entirely canon either.
> 
> Chapter one is loosely based off of season one.


End file.
